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Leirion Gaylor Baird

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Leirion Gaylor Baird
Image of Leirion Gaylor Baird
Mayor of Lincoln
Tenure

2019 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

6

Predecessor
Prior offices
Lincoln City Council At-large

Elections and appointments
Last elected

May 2, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

Yale University

Graduate

Oxford University

Contact


Leirion Gaylor Baird is the Mayor of Lincoln in Nebraska. She assumed office on May 20, 2019. Her current term ends in 2027.

Baird ran for re-election for Mayor of Lincoln in Nebraska. She won in the general election on May 2, 2023.

Although candidates had the option to file with political parties, city elections were nonpartisan and political parties did not appear on the ballot. Baird filed as a Democratic candidate in 2019.[1]

Baird was an at-large representative on the Lincoln City Council in Nebraska from 2013 to 2019.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Gaylor Baird earned a B.A. in history from Yale University and a master's degree in comparative social policy from Oxford University.[2]

Before joining the city council, Gaylor Baird was a member of the Lincoln/Lancaster County Planning Commission. Her professional experience includes work as a management consultant, a city budget and policy analyst, the director of an enrichment program for children from low-income communities, and the development director for an Americorps youth development program. Gaylor Baird has also served as a co-chair of Friendship Home's Keys of Hope campaign, on the Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent's Community Advisory County and the University of Nebraska President's Advisory Council, and on the boards of the Lincoln Community Foundation, Family Service, the Friends of the Pioneers Park Nature Center, and the Friends of the Lincoln Children's Museum.[3]

Elections

2023

See also: Mayoral election in Lincoln, Nebraska (2023)

General election

General election for Mayor of Lincoln

Incumbent Leirion Gaylor Baird defeated Suzanne Geist in the general election for Mayor of Lincoln on May 2, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Leirion Gaylor Baird
Leirion Gaylor Baird (Nonpartisan)
 
54.7
 
44,496
Image of Suzanne Geist
Suzanne Geist (Nonpartisan)
 
45.1
 
36,727
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
192

Total votes: 81,415
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Lincoln

Incumbent Leirion Gaylor Baird and Suzanne Geist defeated Stan Parker in the primary for Mayor of Lincoln on April 4, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Leirion Gaylor Baird
Leirion Gaylor Baird (Nonpartisan)
 
49.8
 
29,216
Image of Suzanne Geist
Suzanne Geist (Nonpartisan)
 
33.0
 
19,377
Stan Parker (Nonpartisan)
 
17.2
 
10,071
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
54

Total votes: 58,718
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2019

See also: Mayoral election in Lincoln, Nebraska (2019)

General election

General election for Mayor of Lincoln

Leirion Gaylor Baird defeated Cyndi Lamm in the general election for Mayor of Lincoln on May 7, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Leirion Gaylor Baird
Leirion Gaylor Baird (Nonpartisan)
 
54.5
 
33,692
Image of Cyndi Lamm
Cyndi Lamm (Nonpartisan)
 
45.3
 
27,994
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
176

Total votes: 61,862
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Lincoln

Leirion Gaylor Baird and Cyndi Lamm defeated Jeff Kirkpatrick, Krystal Gabel, and Rene Solc in the primary for Mayor of Lincoln on April 9, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Leirion Gaylor Baird
Leirion Gaylor Baird (Nonpartisan)
 
41.9
 
21,660
Image of Cyndi Lamm
Cyndi Lamm (Nonpartisan)
 
35.8
 
18,527
Image of Jeff Kirkpatrick
Jeff Kirkpatrick (Nonpartisan)
 
16.7
 
8,665
Image of Krystal Gabel
Krystal Gabel (Nonpartisan)
 
4.4
 
2,301
Rene Solc (Nonpartisan)
 
0.9
 
451
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
129

Total votes: 51,733
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2017

See also: Municipal elections in Lincoln, Nebraska (2017)

The city of Lincoln, Nebraska, held a primary election for city council and airport authority board of directors on April 4, 2017. A general election was scheduled for May 2, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 3, 2017. The following candidates ran in the general election for an at-large seat on the Lincoln City Council.[4]

Lincoln City Council, At-Large General Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Leirion Gaylor Baird Incumbent 20.80% 22,713
Green check mark transparent.png Bennie Shobe 17.98% 19,633
Green check mark transparent.png Roy Christensen Incumbent 16.86% 18,411
Tom Nesbitt 16.25% 17,745
Brayden McLaughlin 14.01% 15,297
Maggie Mae Squires 13.96% 15,246
Write-in votes 0.15% 163
Total Votes 109,208
Source: Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Official Final Results," accessed May 10, 2017


The following candidates ran in the primary election for an at-large seat on the Lincoln City Council.[5]

Lincoln City Council, At-Large Primary Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Leirion Gaylor Baird Incumbent 18.60% 15,502
Green check mark transparent.png Roy Christensen Incumbent 16.08% 13,400
Green check mark transparent.png Tom Nesbitt 15.54% 12,953
Green check mark transparent.png Bennie Shobe 14.51% 12,093
Green check mark transparent.png Brayden McLaughlin 13.97% 11,643
Green check mark transparent.png Maggie Mae Squires 10.04% 8,363
Lou Braatz III 6.11% 5,093
Deb Andrews 4.99% 4,160
Write-in votes 0.15% 128
Total Votes 83,335
Source: Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Official Final Results," accessed April 18, 2017

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Leirion Gaylor Baird did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Leirion Gaylor Baird did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

2017

Gaylor Baird's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

Infrastructure and Economic Growth
Lincoln is funding street improvements at historic levels and repairing sidewalks and more miles of water mains each year.

Public Safety
Lincoln has increased both the numbers of police officers and emergency responders and the resources available to them.

Quality of Life
I have worked to enhance our quality of life and support our working families.[6]

—Leirion Gaylor Baird's campaign website, (2017)[7]

In response to a question from the Lincoln Journal Star about her goals for the city council, Gaylor Baird said, "I will work to strengthen our neighborhoods and parks for families, grow our local economy to create new jobs and new opportunities, improve our infrastructure, and enhance public safety. I am proud of our city’s progress over the last four years, and I am committed to doing even more to build a strong future for Lincoln."[8] She listed the following as the city's three most important services:

1. Public safety is our number one priority and accordingly receives the largest share of the tax-funded budget.

2. Infrastructure such as roads, water mains, sewers, sidewalks, fiber, and utilities provide the backbone for economic growth and job creation.

3. Quality of life services such as parks, playgrounds, trails, pools, and libraries are important to the health and well-being of children and families.[6]

—Leirion Gaylor Baird[8]

Noteworthy events

Events and activity following the death of George Floyd

See also: Events following the death of George Floyd and responses in select cities from May 29-31, 2020

Gaylor Baird was mayor of Lincoln during the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, when events and activity took place in cities across the U.S. following the death of George Floyd. Events in Lincoln, Nebraska began on Friday, May 29, 2020.[9] On May 31, Mayor Leirion Baird (R) declared a state of emergency and instituted a curfew.[10] The Nebraska National Guard was deployed to the city on the same day.[10]

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Lancaster County, Nebraska, "City of Lincoln/Airport Authority/Lincoln Public Schools Candidate Listing (As of filing deadline on March 7, 2019)," accessed March 8, 2019
  2. City of Lincoln, "At-Large - Leirion Gaylor Baird - Chair," accessed March 29, 2017
  3. Re-Elect Leirion - Lincoln City Council, "About," accessed March 29, 2017
  4. City of Lincoln, "Final Candidate Listing," March 3, 2017
  5. City of Lincoln, "Final Candidate Listing," March 3, 2017
  6. 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  7. Re-Elect Leirion - Lincoln City Council, "Issues," accessed March 29, 2017
  8. 8.0 8.1 Lincoln Journal Star, "Leirion Gaylor Baird," March 19, 2017
  9. ABC 8, "8 officers injured, several businesses vandalized after protest turns violent in Lincoln," May 30, 2020
  10. 10.0 10.1 ABC 8, "National Guard activated to aid Lincoln | Curfew issued," May 31, 2020
  11. Washington Post, "The death of George Floyd: What video and other records show about his final minutes," May 30, 2020
  12. The New York Times, "8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody," May 31, 2020
  13. 13.0 13.1 USA Today, "Medical examiner and family-commissioned autopsy agree: George Floyd's death was a homicide," June 1, 2020
  14. Associated Press, "Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death," April 20, 2021
  15. CNN, "Protests across America after George Floyd's death," accessed June 2, 2020
  16. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named chi1

Political offices
Preceded by
Chris Beutler
Mayor of Lincoln
2019-Present
Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
-
Lincoln City Council At-large
2013-2019
Succeeded by
-